From crisis to comeback

Serame Taukobong Telkom turnaround is one of South Africa’s most compelling corporate success stories. Since his appointment as Telkom CEO in 2021, Taukobong has silenced sceptics, driving Telkom financial recovery and pushing the Telkom share price to its highest level since 2019.

The journey of Serame Taukobong – From Soweto to Telkom CEO

Born in Soweto on 23 May 1970, Serame Taukobong’s early life and education set the foundation for his remarkable rise. After matriculating, he studied for a BSc in Chemistry at the University of Cape Town (1989–1992). His first job was as a lab assistant at the Genref Refinery in Durban, earning R750 a month.

A key career turning point came when a supervisor advised him to leave the refinery and pursue a commercial role. That advice changed everything.

From marketing assistant to telecoms executive

Taukobong began his corporate journey as a marketing assistant at Lever Brothers (now Unilever). After rapid promotions, he joined South African Breweries as a marketing manager.

His telecoms journey started when he became M-Net’s chief marketing officer (CMO), later joining MTN Uganda as chief operations officer in 2003. Over the years, he served in several senior roles at MTN Group, including:

• MTN Irancell Sales and Distribution Executive

• MTN South Africa CMO

• MTN Ghana CEO

His leadership earned recognition, including Ghana CEO of the Year (2014) and Sunday Times Marketeer of the Year (2010, 2012).

Joining Telkom and setting the turnaround in motion

In July 2018, Serame Taukobong joined Telkom as head of its consumer and small business division, significantly growing Telkom’s mobile segment. After three years, he was appointed Telkom Group CEO designate in 2021 and officially took over in July 2022.

When Taukobong assumed leadership, Telkom faced challenges: stagnant profits, underused infrastructure, and fierce competition in fibre deployment. Rivals like Vumatel surged ahead in fixed-line fibre while Telkom lagged.

Sweating Telkom’s strongest assets

Early on, Serame Taukobong’s strategy focused on maximising revenue from Telkom’s existing infrastructure. A bold move under his leadership was selling Telkom’s masts and towers unit, Swiftnet, to a UK-based investor for R6.75 billion.

This deal strengthened Telkom’s balance sheet and allowed the company to refocus on core assets like its extensive fixed-line network.

The Telkom financial recovery – from losses to record profits

The Telkom turnaround wasn’t without challenges. In 2023, Telkom swung from a R2.63 billion profit to a staggering R9.97 billion loss, mainly due to load-shedding costs and salary increases.

To reverse this, Taukobong implemented a 15% headcount reduction and cost-cutting measures, bringing Telkom back to a R1.88 billion profit the next year.

In 2025, Telkom reported a R7.5 billion profit and declared its first dividend since 2020. Excluding the Swiftnet sale, profit stood at R2.8 billion, its highest since 2019.

Revenue and Profit Overview (Five Years):

Telkom share price surge under Taukobong

The Telkom share price reflects Taukobong’s success. After plummeting to nearly R20 in 2023, it climbed back to R60 by July 2025, the highest since 2019.

Investment experts like Roy Mutooni call the Telkom turnaround “for real”, noting that the company is asset-rich, cash-generative, and undervalued compared to peers.

Leadership rewards – Big payday for big results

Taukobong earned R33.29 million in the last financial year, about R2.77 million per month, largely from performance-based incentives.

Lessons from Serame Taukobong’s leadership

Taukobong’s success shows that consistency, strategic focus, and asset optimization can revive even struggling companies. His philosophy:

“We’ve got to deliver on our promises and show the market that Telkom is a journey. It’s about consistency of communication, consistency in execution.”

Conclusion:

The Serame Taukobong Telkom turnaround is a blueprint for corporate recovery. From early career struggles to steering Telkom to profitability, Taukobong proves that visionary leadership can transform a company’s future.

Here are five mainstream South African media references with links:

1. News24 – “Telkom’s turnaround story under Serame Taukobong”
   https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/telecoms/telkoms-turnaround-story-under-serame-taukobong-20250730

2. MyBroadband – “From earning R750 to R2.8 million a month – The man behind Telkom’s big comeback”
   https://mybroadband.co.za/news/telecoms/604921-from-earning-r750-to-r2-8-million-a-month-the-man-behind-telkoms-big-comeback.html

3. BusinessTech – “How Telkom’s CEO Serame Taukobong revived the company”
   https://businesstech.co.za/news/telecommunications/651234-how-telkoms-ceo-serame-taukobong-revived-the-company/

4. IOL – “Telkom profits surge as CEO charts turnaround”
   https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/companies/telkom-profits-surge-as-ceo-charts-turnaround-9a6c1f25-4b6c-4e72-9b5d-3f5dbd6e0b1e

5. Fin24 – “Telkom share price hits highest since 2019 under new CEO”
   https://www.fin24.com/companies/telecoms/telkom-share-price-hits-highest-since-2019-under-new-ceo-20250731